Editorial The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Editorials

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Tags: Bethesda Softworks; Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

<p>And so it begins. We're having a merry year of <strong>Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim</strong> news infront of us, I might as well start now.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The Big Pixels announce that: <a href="http://www.thebigpixels.com/musings/2010/12/12/i-will-not-play-the-elder-scrolls-v-why-morrowind-is-better.html" target="_blank"><em>I Will Not Play The Elder Scrolls V: Why Morrowind is Better Than Oblivion</em></a>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Even the little things, like <em>Morrowind</em>'s narcotics (skooma, derived from refined moon sugar, is like heroin, especially for the game's cat-like Khajiit race), are crafted with enough loving imagination to make them barely recognizable from a real-world perspective, yet totally compelling. The choices presented to players at every single turn are barely describable, and simply can't be appreciated by anyone who hasn't poured dozens, if not hundreds, of hours into exploring every aspect of the game.</p>
<p>There is barely a single object in the game that can't be picked up, manipulated, sold, dropped, stolen, stored or displayed, and the numbers of available weapons, worn items, spells, skills, and enchantment are infinitely more than what <em>Oblivion</em> offers. The obvious argument is that sometimes, simple is better, but not so in the case of <em>The Elder Scrolls</em>. In <em>Morrowind</em>, you can create a sword that does fire damage, breaks your enemies' weapon and allows you to breath underwater - or walk on water, or levitate - as long as you're holding it. You can create a staff that makes you invisible while it allows you to pick locks and makes you more persuasive, as well.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>NowGamer on the other hand <a href="http://www.nowgamer.com/columns/casual-games/600/why-elder-scrolls-v-shouldnt-be-on-this-generation-of-consoles" target="_blank">need new consoles first</a> before they can truly enjoy Skyrim.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The issue isn&rsquo;t that Skyrim won&rsquo;t be good. It will be. It&rsquo;s not even that Skyrim will be buggy. It will be. The issue is that Skyrim doesn&rsquo;t belong in this generation of consoles. Oblivion blew away everyone&rsquo;s expectation of what an RPG should be and should accomplish, rewriting the hierarchy of the entire genre overnight. We suddenly expected more from our games, demanded the same level of ambition from our developers and hoped every game we played would accomplish even a fraction of what Oblivion did. Amongst a sea of mediocre launch titles, which promised much but delivered little (we haven&rsquo;t forgotten, Perfect Dark), Oblivion was king.</p>
<p>That&rsquo;s why Skyrim&rsquo;s place at the dying end of 2011 feels wrong. It should be the opening act for a new dawn of consoles, not the one closing the curtains on this. How much can really be accomplished on this technology anyway? Any multiformat release has to consider Xbox 360&rsquo;s limitations in mind and that technology is creaking. Epic can conjure all sorts of voodoo magic to make Gears of War 3 look good but will it play like a game that feels as though it&rsquo;s pushing the technology? Doubtful.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Spotted at: <a href="http://www.gamebanshee.com/news/100752-the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-editorials.html">Gamebanshee</a></p>

 

[GarfunkeL]

rewriting the hierarchy of the entire genre overnight

That it surely did, though not in the way NowGamer wants people to believe.

 

[SimpleComplexity]

Do not worry we have fixed every single aspect of the game and ulitmatively made it approximately 50 times better than its still super awesome but in comparison weak predecessor.

 

[JagreenLern]

Is there any hope for this game? I would be less surprised if Grimoire was released than if Skyrim provided a world anywhere near as interesting as Morrowind did. The best we can hope for is a halfway decent viking game, hopefully with spears this time, but even that's pushing it. Fuck, some of the devs don't seem to realize that humans aren't biolumnescent. So in anticipation of a new best-selling critically-acclaimed turd, I dub this game Skyrimjob.

Also is this going to be on a new engine or still gamebortion?

 

[Darth Roxor]

The Big Pixels announce that: I Will Not Play The Elder Scrolls V: Why Morrowind is Better Than Oblivion

Just a shame this is 5 years overdue.

Also, comments:

You know, I agree with your points about just how much more depth there was in the items, weapons, and such, and sure, everything about Morrowind was far more exotic. I don't feel that Oblivion was quite so generic as you make it out to be, though. The environments aren't so much generic as they draw more parallels with medieval Europe than Morrowind does, and medieval Europe isn't really new to us. I mean, if our culture wasn't so heavily influenced by Europe, we'd probably find ale to be just as exotic as mazte. I just find the parallels to be pleasantly familiar rather than generic.

HAHAHA, oh wow.

 

[JarlFrank]

I really liked the Big Pixels article. It manages to say about just the same that I think about Morrowind and Oblivion.

And I won't read the comments. I never read comments. The retardation... it's just too much to bear.

 

[MicoSelva]

I actually don't care about Elder Scrolls V and am more interested in why VoD has changed his avatar.

Why, VoD? Can You tell us?

 

[Clockwork Knight]

Even the little things, like Morrowind's narcotics (skooma, derived from refined moon sugar, is like heroin, especially for the game's cat-like Khajiit race), are crafted with enough loving imagination to make them barely recognizable from a real-world perspective, yet totally compelling.

I thought it was funny how Bravil had a Skooma Den right in the middle of it, and townspeople complain about it. I thought the guards were just being bribed to ignore it, but if you ask around / follow the duke's son you learn he sometimes goes there at nights. I thought that was a nice little touch.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

I actually don't care about Elder Scrolls V and am more interested in why VoD has changed his avatar.

Why, VoD? Can You tell us?

I had this avatar earlier and switched back.

 

[MicoSelva]

Ok, I obviously phrased my question wrongly. I meant: why now?

 

[Jaesun]

Bethesda is a shit RPG Developer.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Ok, I obviously phrased my question wrongly. I meant: why now?

Why not now? It's Edwin time. I will take dorkside Bao-Dur into consideration in the future.

 

[Luzur]

demanded the same level of ambition from our developers and hoped every game we played would accomplish even a fraction of what Oblivion did.

good god, if that is what people believe no wonder we are where we are right now in the videogame industry.

How much can really be accomplished on this technology anyway? Any multiformat release has to consider Xbox 360’s limitations in mind and that technology is creaking. Epic can conjure all sorts of voodoo magic to make Gears of War 3 look good but will it play like a game that feels as though it’s pushing the technology? Doubtful.

atleast they admit that consoles are limited in the hardware department.

 

[MicoSelva]

atleast they admit that consoles are limited in the hardware department.

The bad thing is, this also holds PC games development.
Not that we need better graphics, though - and somehow I don't believe increased hardware complexity will cause increased games complexity.

 

[Brotherman Bill]

Bethesda is a shit RPG Developer.

 

[latexmonkeys]

Not that we need better graphics, though - and somehow I don't believe increased hardware complexity will cause increased games complexity.

Nope.
There was a time in my youth when I naively believed in the future complexity of crpgs as hardware systems advanced. The possibilities seemed limitless in those days. Alas, those days are long gone.

 

[Black]

Tomorrow we'll get TES V retrospectives and "best memories".

 

[poocolator]

Bethesda is a shit RPG Developer.

 

[Lingwe]

It's just not the same without Vault Dweller's snark. He should be brought back as the Skyrim news poster.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

It's just not the same without Vault Dweller's snark. He should be brought back as the Skyrim news poster.

Good idea. You just need to convince him.

 

[SimpleComplexity]

If you want some snark post something snarky, that's what comments are for.
Nothing will bring VD back, the relationship is over. Find a new girlfriend.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

that was pretty snarky

 

[SimpleComplexity]

snark as a shark

 

[Chateaubryan]

Amongst a sea of mediocre launch titles, which promised much but delivered little [...], Oblivion was king.

 

[denizsi]

New installment in a series = new & better graphics. Gosh...

Also, the idiot obviously hasn't heard the planned longevity of the current console generation.

When are the advanced parabolic shaders due, anyway? Geometric shaders have been around for the longest time and voxel terrain engines have started to make it into high-end mainstream again, so it's about time we started seeing less flat surfaces and more natural curvatures.

If you want some snark post something snarky, that's what comments are for.
Nothing will bring VD back, the relationship is over. Find a new girlfriend.

But with some skill, you can turn any ex-relationship into a friendship with benefits, so why shouldn't it work with VD?

Oh yes, the skill part is lacking.